The Obligatory 2015 post...

So it is that time of the year...again...

The time when we take stock of the last 12 months of the year and decide/resolve on what we can/will/may do better in the next 12 months.

Telstra Series – Race 1 – Hillarys

So when we last left off I ended on the cliff hanger question of would I / wouldn’t I race at Hillarys……dun dun duuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn!!!!

Well shock and horror…I raced!

The Joys of the Life Rollercoaster

So the last two weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride with life, work, training and races all coming together at high speed.

Race 2 - Fleet Cycles Interclub 2014

I actually typed this recap up after the race but unfortunately got pretty caught up in work and life which meant that I forgot to post it until now…on to the recap…

The weekend marked my second race and my first “proper distance” race. I was signed up to the Fleet Cycles Interclub race. This race is the only one on the calendar that you race for your club (and a little bit of personal pride too). All finishers earn points for the club and there is an eventual trophy for the winning club.

Still being a relative newbie to the club I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was grateful that there were three others from my current training group signed up too and there were a few friendly faces from the club that I knew there too.

A little taster of things to come???

I saw these videos the other day and they both made me laugh...out loud...a lot!!

Acceptance…why is it so hard?

Monday. It is no secret that I am not a fan but I am looking at trying to turn that around with a positive spin!

Monday – marks the start of another week of training

Monday – marks the end of a solid week of training last week
Monday – the start of another race week (Interclubs this weekend!)
Monday – yup…that’s it I’m done…its still bloody Monday!

This weekend I popped my cherry…

…well, in a triathlon sense at least…why, what were you thinking???

I raced at the Leftbank Triathlon. My first triathlon and the first step on the way to the ultimate goal of Ironman completion.

The spectating that never was and….…

Ok, I was going to give it a separate post but I am now waaaaayyyy too excited!

6 weeks till my first Tri….or is it?!?!

Happy Monday to all…although Mom we already spoke on the phone so you’ve had all the news.

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

It was a great week of training this past week with a return concentration on interval training.

Middle of the Age Group!

Well the good news is that I managed to survive the week of hills that was oh so generously bestowed upon us by our coaching team.

It was another good week of training. I managed to get some form of exercise/training in on my targeted 6 out of 7 days.

Mondays = coffee....lots!

It’s all about the 1%’ers

It has been a good week of training this week. With some pretty solid workouts being completed. I only missed the Thursday night swim due to club organised seminar on nutrition…more on that shortly.

Good Golly Miss Molly

Please excuse the fact that we have a second update this week. Given that this is a little rambling interlude of my training and endeavours towards completing an Ironman I wanted to capture the feeling that I have following yesterday’s training session.

Back on the wagon....well more bike than wagon...

Monday….again…..trip to the coffee machine (again). Coffee to the rescue……

Not the usual cheerful “Rest Day” update for you this week but rather the “Melancholy Monday” caffeine fuelled update instead J

A really fast week and something a little bit exciting!

Wow is it me or has this week flown by. It has been fairly manic on all fronts and as they say….time flies when you are having fun!

The “fun” they talk about is pretty broad in its definition!

Friday = Rest Day - Woo hoo!!!

 

I know I know, I have just started to get back into training and I am already celebrating today being a rest day. In my defence…..[assume appropriately whiney voice] “it hurts and I am tired!”

Let the training commence….

So Saturday marked my first training session with my tri club. It is an introduction to both the club and to triathlons in general.

As this was the first Saturday of the 12 week course it was more of an introduction overall but moving forward Saturdays will be BRICK day! COOL (I say that now…we will see!)

Still here and still moving....just slowly

Yup – shocking, I’ve been a bit slack on the blogging side of life the last couple of weeks.

My bad but I didn’t think that my hacking cough and fever shakes constituted effective training towards my Ironman goal…but given how empty my training schedule looks I may have to assign some cardio benefit to being ill….

Perth City to Surf 2014 Half MMarathon

Spring has Sprung....apparently not according to this report but I like the idea that it has so will continue to maintain that today is the first day of spring!

Well yesterday I ran in my third (in a row) Perth City to Surf Half Marathon.

Ctrl-Alt-Del - time for a reboot

I think there has been a bit of a downer theme in my posts lately. A bit too much self-pity for my liking. Well brace yourself cause all that is about to change!

Blergh...

So I feel like I have been trapped in the doldrums a bit lately. Desire to train and improve is there (sort of) but motivation is lacking. And when my motivation is lacking my excuses are poised on ready rapid fire…plus its winter and cold and dark in the morning (see!!! See what I am like!!)

It also doesn’t help that I managed to pick up a cold which must be a HUGE bug cause it took me down (no – not man flu…the Rambo of all bugs I swear!) and I am still trying to shake the death rattle in my cough at the moment a week later. (Another excuse…rereading prior to publishing at the moment!)

So moving this pity party right along, I have had some interesting interactions over the past couple of weeks.

[*Insert Title Here*] - It's too early on a Monday

I will admit that this Monday is in distinct contrast to last Monday. Whereas last Monday I was surfing on the wonders of an endorphin high this Monday I have been slapped by the reality of a Monday morning caffeine addiction!

As I sit here glazed, chugging sipping my cup of life providing nectar I am wondering firstly where the weekend went and secondly what is different to last weekend.

Back in the saddle....literally

What a weekend…given that today is a Monday and my usual Monday mood is something to avoid I can only conclude that the influx of endorphins over the weekend is having a carry-over effect into this week….plus no one has managed to annoy me just yet is an added bonus J.

Why may you ask am I still surfing the endorphin rush?

Normal service starting to resume

It is really wonderful to now be enjoying the freedom that has come with the removal of the plate from my shoulder. I can nearly extend my arm and touch the ceiling again (without holding my breath – wife!)

One of the things that have surprised me most through this all is how quickly my fitness has faded and the amount of strength lost in the shoulder. One thing that hasn’t surprised me (rather disappointed me) is how quickly I have slipped out of the early morning habit.

If not now, when?

It’s cold! It’s dark! It’s early! Why am I awake before my alarm! The bed is so warm and the duvet is “heavy” as I begrudgingly push it off!

Plate-less and back on the wagon...

One week ago today they removed the plate from my shoulder! Despite my pleading I was not allowed to get MY plate from them! Seriously, it was mine for the last 4 months so why not?!?!

The buck stops here….tomorrow ;)

So it has been nearly a month since my last entry. Life has just gotten in the way in its usual indisputable manner, plus in a blog about my Ironman journey, there has been very little actual journey time going on…more like I’ve been treading water.

However, the good news is that the buck stops here.

Want v Need

Wikipedia definition of a Need:

• A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs are distinguished from wants because a deficiency would cause a clear negative outcome, such as dysfunction or death. Needs can be objective and physical, such as food, or they can be subjective and psychological, such as the need for self-esteem. On a social level, needs are sometimes controversial. Understanding needs and wants is an issue in the fields of politics, social science, and philosophy.

Wikipedia definition of a Want:

• Wants are often distinguished from needs. A need is something that is necessary for survival (such as food and shelter), whereas a want is simply something that a person would like to have.

MISSING: Running Mojo

So as I have banged on about several times over the past two months I have been itching to get back to some form of training…..anything will do I just want to train. I even mentioned to my darling wife that if I complain about training she should punch me (in my ok shoulder) to get me going and remind me of my non-training misery!

 Well….

Well I finally did it....

The day I have been trying to put off for almost 9 weeks has finally arrived.

8 week check up done! Couple of gratuitous photos too...

So on Monday I went for my 6 week check-up (8 weeks after the fall).

I won’t go into the usual “enjoyment” of the public hospital system. I am grateful I am grateful for free medical care and am very appreciative for the time and efforts that the people that work in patient care must go through. Needless to say I made some good progress into the second instalment of the Games Of Thrones book that I am currently reading!!!

I'M BACK BABY.....sort of...the gym edition

So last night at my physio appointment I heard the sentence that I have been longing to hear...

You can start doing light gym work!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Busselton 70.3 Volunteering

Last weekend I had the pleasure and privilege of volunteering at the Busselton 70.3 Ironman event in the South West of WA.

Having been on the receiving end of the contributions that volunteers make in a number of previous races I firstly wanted to give something back and secondly, expected to have a good day with a new bunch of people.

I was not disappointed!

Monday motivator....

Ok this may or mat not become a "thing" on here but I had to smile at a post I saw the other day.....it pretty much sums up whats going on for me right now!!!

Turning a corner....4 weeks in...

Here we are at 4 weeks

·         post wingless flight and crash landing

·         almost post op (this weekend)

·         exercise-less (sorry but walking son to school doesn’t count…despite getting a sweat on)

We are also 4 days post Easter and there is still chocolate in the house!!!!!

MISSING : Routine

So here we are coming to the end of week 2 since the grand handlebar somersault. Something that I have realized is that I really miss the structure of training and the routine of day to day life!!!

Having to take a little training hiatus...

So just a few short weeks ago I recall making a comment along the lines that I was starting to "feel fit" and starting to feel the benefits of the hill intervals and riding into the wind paying off.

Also, you may well recall the last post which was the arrival of the newest member of the family...my beautiful new carbon fibre bike.

Sadly, the shiny new bike, wet suit and trainers are going to be hung up for a little while....in fact even the pursuit tri that I am enrolled in this weekend will be my first non-attended event!

Welcome to the newest family member....

Well, at last word I was off on the weekend to look for a new bike.

So the planned day involved a visit to three different bike shops to try out several different bike models.

What actually happened was a lot less involved...

A rollercoaster week....

So when we left off last week I was mega excited to be going bike shopping at the weekend.

So the big news is that I did in fact go bike shopping and

...............................

wait for it.................................................

Woo hoo...Paying it forward

Really very pleased today. As I mentioned in a previous post, I registered my interest in volunteering at the Busselton 70.3 in May.

I SURVIVED....my first (sort of) open water swim

The weekend saw my first ever open water swim…I will admit that for some reason I have some pretty irrational fear of open water swimming so this for me was a pretty big deal.

We could have a baby in the same length of time....(but we're not!)...

So on review of the calendar this morning a little realisation washed over me………

9 MONTHS TO GO!!!!

Actually, that isn’t 100% true…I have been obsessing about this race ever since I signed up and as such was well aware that today marked 9 months to go. That said…

LONG Weekend recap

I am totally starting to get into the swing of things with regards to the mixing up of my training regime. That said I still can’t seem to get a session in on a Saturday. This weekend was a long weekend here in WA and as such the demands of time from a family perspective were up there compared to normal.

Back in the swing and a couple of races

I arrived back from the UK last weekend (15/02) and pretty much got right back into the swing of things with regards to training. I wanted to pick things up quickly as I was carrying a little bit of guilt after the lack of activity in the UK.

I'm back baby.....from the UK

Yup – I made it back from the UK (eventually – weather and plane delays)…and got straight back into the routine on the hamster wheel…

This time of year for me (as an Accountant) is a pretty hectic one with financial year budgeting going on as well as the lead up to the end of current financial year preparation going on. That said, life carries on at break neck speed.

Getting there...gradually

This passed weekend was Australia Day. It is a great day of the celebration of all this Australian and it is really nice to see the pride people have in their country.

Flags flying from cars and homes, people dressed up in their Australian finest, city air and firework displays and an extra day off work!

Why?.....Why Not!

I keep getting the repeated question from people I meet (and that know me and the former larger me)…

Why are you doing the Ironman?

Special times.....the day 2 post exercise ache

So as mentioned in my last post, Monday 13th (ooooooo.....the 13th) marked my return to training from the Christmas break.

2014 - going at a blurr (already)

I am not sure about you guys but I think that 2014 is speeding by rather rapidly at the moment...I am shocked that it is already the 13th!

Well...Happy New Year and I wish you happiness and health for the year ahead! Happy training and great races!!